


And So It Goes

by Avaaricious



Series: Fixed Points [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Protective Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers Feels, Tony Stark Has Daddy Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-11-03 06:58:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10962075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avaaricious/pseuds/Avaaricious
Summary: Life goes on for Steve and Bucky as they enter a new century, but there are fixed points in the universe; things that are destined to play out a certain way no matter what.





	And So It Goes

**Author's Note:**

> I never meant for Cause & Effect to continue any further, but then ao3 user teejplease commented with some really insightful questions about how the timeline was altered because of events and... well, it reeeaally got me thinking! 
> 
> This was a really interesting piece to write, and wouldnt've been possible without Sarah. She makes everything I do better, helps me push more buttons every single time. A thousand thank yous <3 
> 
> This fic leans heavily on the storyline of the original Iron Man movie from 2008. My timeline of events will reflect that. 
> 
> Thank you, and please enjoy!

In the Spring of 2005, Howard Stark names his only son, Tony, as the successor to his company when he eventually retires. It comes as a shock to his board of directors and his long-time friend and partner, Obadiah Stane. But it comes as the biggest shock to Tony himself.

 

Tony has spent years inventing things -- not always a boon to mankind, but always amazing -- and carving himself out a nice chunk of the private sector, separate from Stark Industries holdings. It's not as large as his father's company, but that just means there are less chefs in the kitchen; _he_ is the undisputed boss, and that's how he likes it. Even though it's smaller, the Stark name certainly helps the company market value. However, the driving force behind its success is undoubtedly the unfettered genius behind its creations.

 

Tony makes useful things, does a reasonable -- but still fairly small -- amount of charitable, non-profit work, and earns an absolute shit-ton of money. He does have his problems with drink, and gambling, and women, but Tony's over-qualified and underpaid PA, Pepper Potts, is remarkably adept at keeping him on the straight and narrow, more or less.

 

But Tony's conflicted. Being the CEO of his father's company is a far larger undertaking than anything he's done before. There could be sacrifices. He's not sure he's ready for that. Tony figures he's got time to talk to his parents, to his _father_ , and maybe sort this out. Maybe even talk to Obadiah, see what he makes of his dad's deal; in all honesty, Tony expected Stane to be named as successor.

 

But when Howard and Maria Stark are killed in an automobile accident while driving in Long Island just before Christmas later that year, the first person Tony turns to is not Obadiah Stane. It isn't even Pepper Potts.

 

It's Bucky Barnes.

 

Tony appears at Bucky's apartment, drunk and crying and snotty. It doesn't matter that he's thirty-five now, when he sees Bucky, he always feels like a little kid.

 

Perhaps it's because Bucky's barely changed in all the years he's known him.

 

Bucky opens the door, and he just _knows_. He gathers Tony close, calling him things like 'pal' and 'buddy', while the Ghost Who Walks, a.k.a. Steve Rogers, spirits into the background and makes them both tea.

 

Steve doesn't stay around, and Tony doesn't expect him to. After all, there was never any love lost between him and Howard.

 

Tony passes out on Bucky's sofa that night, not quite making it to the spare room, while Bucky lies awake on his bed and sorts through his own feelings of grief. Howard was a good friend to him. Hell, the man designed the forerunner to the prosthetic he wears now, that is _still_ light-years ahead of anything else on the market.

 

In the past few years, Tony's taken up the mantle of working on Bucky's arm, after a lifelong fascination with the prosthetic. Tony's been setting up a small robotics department in his own company, getting Bucky along for tests. He differs from Howard in the way he approaches the arm in that Howard tended to focus on functionality and making the arm a metal version of the flesh, whereas Tony focuses on innovation, and trying to parse what _else_ the arm could do; the possibilities.

 

It seems that as it stands, Bucky's arm is still a unicorn. His natural neurotransmitters talk to the sensors in the prosthetic better than any other test subject they've ever had, and neither the scientists nor Tony quite replicate it yet. Bucky thinks it could be the serum, but Tony's determined to crack the secret.

 

But Tony has a huge business to run now, and robotics is small potatoes compared to the other things he does.

 

Part of the problem is Tony never imagined his father not at the helm. To lose his dad and then be thrust into the position that stole so much of that parent's time away from him as a child leaves an ache in his chest and a sour taste in his mouth. Bucky attempts to reason with him, says something about Howard's legacy, and what the gesture from his old man meant, but Tony's not really interested in hearing it.

 

He backslides for a good few months, drinking heavily and indulging in less than healthy habits. In that time, Uncle Obi steps in as interim CEO. Stane tells the board and the world that Stark junior needs time to process his grief, and that the company is in otherwise, good hands.

 

It takes Tony over a year to get himself sorted, and in that time, Bucky stays with him. Bucky's been through family losses; his parents are now both dead, as is one of his sisters, a nephew, and three of the five remaining Commandos. Bucky mourned each loss, guilty deep down in his heart that he is still hale and hearty and (mostly) whole.

 

But guilty over things that were beyond his control and are impossible to change seems fruitless. It's a lesson he's been trying to beat into Steve for _decades_.

 

It has been hard to outlive them, barely changed on the outside, still so much different on the inside, but he's had Steve. Always steadfast at his shoulder, a brother, a friend, a lover.

 

Even if the man is as stubborn as the will of kings.

 

Tony has no one like that, no one that he's so close to that he could just trust implicitly. Everyone always wants something from him, money or fame or notoriety, or inventions, or they work for him. Bucky never wants _anything_. He drops by, has a beer, shoots the shit, tells him when he's being an asshole... and often, it was more than Howard had time to do.

 

Bucky's always been there when he's been needed, but with Howard gone, he really steps into a familial role. Apart from Obadiah, he's the closest thing to family without the Stark name Tony's ever had.

 

Steve watches from the sidelines. He's not glad Howard is dead, nor is he crying over it. Accidents happen, and the man who never, ever, let him forget he made a mistake is gone.

 

Steve can't help Tony, either. It's not as though he hates Tony; far from it. He doesn't _know_ Tony, not like Bucky does. Steve never allowed himself to get close because of Howard, and now... well, it seems too little too late to try when Tony is in the midst of very real grief.

 

Bucky's parents died gradually, naturally... complications due to old age, but they lived a long, full life. Howard was eighty-eight -- the same age as Bucky, coincidentally -- and he too lived a long life, but Steve knows how jarring it is to have your loved ones snatched from you, instead of slowly, peacefully. It's never easy, but it's especially hard to feel so cheated.

 

Steve maybe knows what Tony feels like, but he stays to the shadows. It's not his place to say. They don't exchange more than a few words during this period of time, Tony's avoidant and Steve feels awkward. During one epic Stark bender, Steve hears Tony mutter that he must be happy now Howard is dead.

 

Steve hears it, and it hurts, but he lets it go. Tony's drunk and grieving and doesn't remember those words later. He can't exactly blame Tony for lashing out, because Steve hasn't exactly been brilliant at controlling his own grief over the years. The one constant, the only thing that ever seemed to help him, was Bucky.

 

And in that, Steve is so grateful that Bucky can be there for Tony now, like he was there for Steve so long ago.

 

With Bucky's help, and patience, just over a year after Howard and Maria died Tony meets with the Stark Industries board. He's ready to take his rightful place at the head.

 

For Howard and Maria.

 

But mostly, for himself.

 

Bucky couldn't be prouder of Tony if he were his own son, and tells him so. Tony does get emotional, but he doesn't cry.

 

He does, however, try and get Bucky to take a place on his board, and also the role of Chief Operating Officer. Tony knows he's going a little over Obadiah's head, but he's the head of the company, and if he can't choose who does what, then what's the point of being in charge?

 

Bucky knocks it back. He left behind making big ticket decisions when he gave up the Directorship of SHIELD. Instead, he promises to be there for Tony if needed, and reluctantly allows Stark to grant him Power of Attorney, and promises an ass-kicking if the job starts to change him.

  
***  


Stane becomes COO, and things seem fine for a time.

 

Tony merges his personal company in as a division of Stark Industries, and Bucky watches quietly as his friend's son navigates managing this new behemoth. There are decisions that raise his eyebrows, but he's far from a businessman, and keeps his own counsel, never offering it unless directly asked.

 

Tony -- like his father -- is sometimes brilliant enough to not even know how bad the item he's inventing is until it's actually complete. Bucky all-too-well remembers how many headaches Howard's 'bad babies' caused for them all in the late forties.

 

The only time Bucky ever seeks Tony out to avidly offer an opinion is when Stane wants to capitalise on some of these amazing and terrible accidents, looking into expanding SI's weapons division into long-range ballistics, chemical and biological warfare.

 

Bucky sits Tony down and tells him about the Japanese using mustard gas against the Chinese during the war, about how people lost their sight or were permanently disfigured with large doses. He tells him about how Steve couldn't sleep a wink for a week after helping the Allies liberate a concentration camp and finding the gas chambers, the results were so horrendous. He talks about visiting Vietnam after the war and seeing the horrific, life-altering effects of Agent Orange on both the local population and returned US servicemen. Tony baulks and says he's not inventing things to torture people, but Bucky shakes his head sadly, and tells him that the inventor of hydrogen cyanide probably didn't think the Nazis would use it for what _they_ did, either.

 

It's enough for Tony to leave the weapons division as is, even investigate scaling them down, despite being a lucrative avenue for the company. He decides his conscience isn't worth it.

 

When Tony tells Stane they won't be expanding, it's the first time Bucky ever sees that wide smile falter, and something dark peek from beneath the surface. It's gone in an instant, but he knows it was there, because where good old 'Uncle Obi' is concerned, Bucky smells a rat.

 

Stane gives him the same feelings he got when trying to root HYDRA out of SHIELD. The guy is smiles and backslaps and handshakes, and he's never put a foot wrong that Bucky can see, but that doesn't mean it's not happening.

Hell, he remembers meeting Stane when the guy had a full head of brown hair, back in '79. Full of piss and vinegar, ready to take on the world for Howard.

 

Bucky remembers thinking he was a harmless kid. What he lacked in the scientific talent Howard possessed, he more than made up for in moxie. Tony was a child prodigy, to be sure, but too young to be a part of the company. Bucky figures Howard took the young Obadiah in as a protégé, who then climbed the ranks of the company. He always could bend Howard's ear, but never possessed the Stark genius for science.

 

He doesn't think it was always like this, at least not at the start, but as Stane became more entrenched in the company, with more power, the feelings low down in Bucky's gut started.

 

Tony trusts him, though, and without a scrap of evidence apart from a 'feeling' Bucky tells no one of his misgivings, except Steve. Because it's not as though Steve's going to turn around and blab to anyone.

 

The younger Stark isn't a complete capitalist pig, despite 'making money' being at the top of his priority list. He has a few fledgling initiatives in war-torn and third world countries, dipping into renewable resources, clean drinking water... and that's what inspires him to oversee the installation of freshwater pumps in Afghanistan, despite the danger. Obadiah organises a military escort, and Tony feels comfortable amongst the US Army.

 

Which is, of course, when everything goes to hell.

 

Explosions rip through the jeeps of Tony's convoy as they're attacked. Tony does his best to duck for cover as his protection detail fights back to no avail; they're all killed in front of him.

 

It gets hazy and jumbled after that; all Tony remembers is dust in the back of his throat, an explosion so close that his ears ring for days. A shirt soaking through with blood, sticking to his skin, and the pain.

 

So much pain.

 

Through the haze, there are flashes of an old camcorder and automatic weapons pointed at him, and a harsh Arabic dialect. Everything goes black soon after, as a rifle stock makes contact with the back of his head.

 

A fellow prisoner, Doctor Ho Yinsen, does his best in the primitive conditions to save Tony's life, stopping the shrapnel that lies embedded in his chest from travelling any deeper to pierce his heart. It's almost as ingenious as what Tony might've come up with himself; an electromagnet hooked up to a car battery, and then, with the both of them working on the project, Tony is able to reproduce a mini version of the power source that runs his factories back home -- the arc reactor. Yinsen's help with this, and with translating the demands of his captors, is invaluable.

 

They call themselves the Ten Rings, and they want Tony to make weapons. They know he's capable of it, and promise to let him go if he builds a missile.

 

Tony and Yinsen both know that's not true.

 

Instead, they begin working on another project, disguised as the missile. It's a suit of armour, powered by the energy source thrumming away in Tony's chest. Time is running out, their captors become cagier as the deadline for the weapon approaches, and they're not even sure this is going to work. It's the longest of long shots, but it's all they have.

 

Back in New York, Bucky has lost count of the amount of times he's watched the ransom video over Pepper's shoulder. It makes him sick. He's made calls to the Army and the Marines and to Nick Fury -- anyone who he thinks might not consider him a has-been -- to try and convince them to send a rescue party. He looks over the encrypted source data and tries to figure out the transmission point.

 

On his seventh visit to Pepper Potts in the days since the video was received, Bucky happens to walk past a conference room where Stane is talking to a few of SI's board members. He doesn't eavesdrop on purpose, but Bucky's ears have always been sharp.

 

"--on't know what else there is we can do. There's no guarantee he's still alive," Stane says in an undertone, "and I don't believe that we should give in to extortion, no matter the reason."

 

The men jump as Bucky thumps his metal hand against the doorframe. His face is stony, eyes bloodshot. "We've got no guarantee Tony's dead, and it's callous to talk like he is."

 

"Bucky," Stane mollifies, his name sounding awkward and insincere on his tongue, having been caught out, "I'm afraid you've misunderstood my comments."

 

"I understood them just fine," Bucky fires back. "And I think -- in fact, I _know_ I speak for Tony when I say that money doesn't outweigh his life. If that's what it takes to get him free, that's what the company will do."

 

Stane's brow furrows. "I won't allow this company's profits to be spent frivolously--"

 

Bucky's lips curl back in a feral smile that looks more like a snarl. "It'll have to be a token protest. Tony's granted me Power of Attorney, I'm authorised to make decisions on his behalf when he's incapable, and I'm pretty sure he'd advocate for his own fucking rescue."

 

Bucky stays for a moment, staring them down and daring them to reply. He's met with stony silence. "Yeah. That's what I thought," Bucky says, spinning on his heels.

 

When he leaves the room, Bucky puts his fist through a wall, and busts his knuckles good. In retrospect, he should've used his left hand.

 

Against Stane's recommendation, Pepper makes a copy of the tape for Bucky for him to take home and work on. Bucky holds her close for a few minutes after she gives him the tape, trying to reassure her that they'll get to the bottom of this, and get Tony home. Pepper nods, pressing her face into his shoulder, not making a sound as her eyes grow wet.

 

Bucky's at the kitchen table, scanning the recording for any new information, anything at all. Presently, he feels someone come to stand behind him.

 

Bucky sighs, as Steve places a tentative hand on his shoulder. "Can I help?" he asks in a quiet voice. Bucky moves to the side as Steve drags a chair to be seated next to him.

 

Steve watches the ransom recording a few times in stony silence, mouth set in a grim line. Bucky watches Steve from the corner of his eye. He can start to see the wheels turn in Steve's head, and he remembers that expression over countless years. It's the face of a man sorting through the available information to make the best tactical decisions. Steve's presence pays off, as ultimately _he's_ the one who remembers Tony's friend Rhodes in the Airforce. Bucky thanks him for the help, but Steve waves it away, just gratified that he can be of some small assistance in the matter.

 

A well-placed call to Rhodes has both Steve and Bucky on a military transport, bound for Afghanistan within eight hours of the original contact. Bucky insists to Steve that he doesn't have to go, but Steve is adamant.

 

In the end, the mission is less of a rescue and more of a recovery. Tony's found walking in the desert, dehydrated, malnourished, shards of metal in his chest. He spins an interesting story, one that Bucky has every intention of investigating once they get back to the USA.

 

Back home, a shaken Tony gives a press conference that looks more like a Lennon love-in. He announces the immediate cessation of activities of SI's weapons division, and Bucky once again catches a cold, blankness behind Stane's smile.

 

Once he's back, it seems the only thing that Stane, Pepper, Bucky, his doctors, and the Board can all agree upon is that Tony needs a rest. Therefore, Tony has an enforced sabbatical, which he spends almost entirely alone in his workshop in his Malibu penthouse. Stane is in meetings all the time, trying to 'put out fires' as he says, after Tony's announcement. Bucky begins investigating the Ten Rings and Tony's abduction in earnest, starting with finding more experts to analyse the ransom videos more thoroughly, with Pepper's help. And Steve tries to continue with what passes as normal life.

 

When Christy Everhart of Vanity Fair has to be the one who tells Tony some of his branded weapons are showing up and being used against civilians, he is understandably, furious. What's worse is that the weapons aren't from the SI division, they're prototypes of his own design, and should be locked away in his own laboratories.

 

It becomes a perfect opportunity for him to test out the new armour he's built: A sleeker, deadlier version of what he cobbled together in the cave.

 

Piloted, for want of a better word, by Tony, and driven by the power source in his chest, he takes out the bad guys in the most amazing field test. Sure, he nearly gets blown up on the way back by his countrymen, but that's why it's good to know Rhodes.

 

Stane files an injunction against Tony on behalf of the Board of Directors, trying to lock him out of his own company, sending Tony to spin his wheels, and Bucky wishes his instincts were wrong, just _once_.

 

It seems Stane is finally showing his hand. Bucky's not quite sure how deep Stane's influence runs, so he chooses the path of subterfuge. He recruits Pepper to sneak into Stane's office and download his encrypted files, which reveal a much longer video of the captured Tony in Afghanistan. Translating the ransom demands, he finds they're not demands at all; they're a personal message to Stane, detailing his betrayal.

 

Bucky can't get through to Tony's cell, and he has a feeling deep in his gut Tony's going to require physical backup. He uses one of Stark Industries' fleet of private jets to fly to Malibu with the only man he can trust to have his back. Once there, Bucky sends Steve to safeguard Pepper, while he heads straight to the penthouse. His brain is brewing full of very creative solutions to the problem that is Obadiah. It's been so long since something has pissed him off _this_ righteously, it takes a lot of effort to keep his emotions in check, keep his mind on task.

 

Stane has beaten Bucky there, and because of Bucky's emotional turmoil, he is uncharacteristically blindsided before he even makes it to the building. The Sonic Taser Tony invented and set aside as one of those projects 'too sketchy' to be mass-produced, incapacitates him quite thoroughly.

 

The fire running through his bloodstream, the inability to move, and a painful pulse that makes it feel like his head wants to split open and splatter his brains on the cobblestones, it's the closest he's come to being reminded of a lab in Austria in 1945. Bucky fights the paralysis, but his body succumbs mutinously to the agony.

 

"I'm betting you might have a bit of resistance to the taser, so I probably don't have much time. Gives me fifteen minutes with a normal man, not sure what the time period for a freak will be." Stane gives him a pointed smile. "I always knew you were going to be trouble." He walks around Bucky's prone body casually. Bucky can only just move his eyes, everything else is rigid and aching. "First in Howard's ear, and then in Tony's... I didn't care when you kept your opinions about business to yourself, but now you've gone and interfered with my very specific interests. I can't let that go."

 

If he could, Bucky would roll his eyes. Because of _course_ Stane is prone to the Bond villain-esque speechifying.

 

It does beg the question what is Stane going to do with him? The answer probably isn't all that friendly.

 

Stane looks off to the side, and Bucky can hear heavy footsteps, at least three sets. "Take care of him. Make it look like a robbery." Obadiah looks down at Bucky and tsks his tongue. "It's dangerous around here. Welcome to California."

 

An icy feeling settles in Bucky's gut as the depth of Stane's contempt is finally revealed. Not surprising to him, but he dreads to think what this man could do to Tony without Bucky being around to warn him.

 

Bucky watches him head towards the house as his ribs explode in pain.

 

The thugs do not let up. They kick and punch his prone body without quarter, the taser taking away his ability to even limit the damage by protecting his head or organs. He feels the separate impacts when three of his ribs snap, when one of the fragments presses in on his lung, when he gets punched in the jaw so hard it actually loosens a tooth.

 

Bucky has taken a fair share of beatings over the years, but this is one of the worst, and that's saying something. One of the men's boots glances off his temple, and he nearly passes out. He lets his eyes slip shut and feigns unconsciousness. There are a few more blows to his torso, but they taper off.

 

"Do we keep going?" One voice asks, and Bucky can feel the tread of a combat boot prod him in the ribs. Breathing is intensely difficult, and he can't do it without an accompanying wheeze. Searing pain accompanies each inhale as shards of broken rib press against his expanding lungs, so he doesn't have to fake the severe pain those actions produce. He does, however, stay as still as possible, playing possum.

 

"He's as good as dead," another voice announces after a pregnant pause. "Ain't no way _anyone's_ coming back from that."

 

Bucky stays silent, hoping Stane never deemed to reveal to the meatheads that he isn't just _anyone_. It's the only advantage he has in his current state.

 

A third voice laughs, and a last kick is delivered squarely into his exposed belly.

 

Bucky does pass out then, but not before he thinks he didn't survive falling off a mountain for this goddamn shit.

  
***  


Stane gets to Tony, ripping the arc reactor out of his chest to power his own, knock-off version of Tony's amazing creation. Like Bucky, he's left for dead.

 

However, also like Bucky, Tony doesn't let a little thing like imminent death stop him. And all bets are off when beloved Uncle Obi threatens Pepper for her part in trying to take him down.

 

He makes his way down to his workshop and -- thanks to his robotic lab assistant -- is able to re-install version one of his arc reactor just in time.

 

Satisfied that Pepper is safe with Agent Coulson, Steve tries to check in with Bucky, who doesn't respond to phone calls. Given the direness of the situation, Steve worries. It's not like him to be unresponsive with the stakes so high. But it's _Bucky,_ for crying out loud. He has an always will be the toughest motherfucker that Steve has ever had the great pleasure to know.

 

But the feeling in his gut won't go away; he should've checked in by now. He mentions this to Colonel Rhodes, who admits he hasn't been able to raise Tony in the last hour.

 

It's enough to feed Steve's paranoia. They decide that with Pepper in safe hands, they should both see if they can find Tony and Bucky.

 

It feels like an incredibly long drive to Malibu. Rhodes is quiet and Steve is tense. Tony's penthouse is on a cliff overlooking the water, and is so palatial, he owns most of the road that leads up to it. Flicking on the high beams to his car for better visibility on the darkened road, Rhodes approaches the house.

 

Steve's sharp eyes pick up the telltale glint of metal from a strange lump to the side, half on the lawn, half on the curb. "Stop the car," he orders, jumping out before Rhodes has done much save to slow down.

 

Bucky looks dead, but Steve can see a very shallow rise and fall to his chest. His pulse is weak, but there. "Bucky, Bucky," Steve calls out softly, running his thumb across his forehead, which comes back dirty and bloody. Anger is pooling in his lower belly like it hasn't for years.

 

Bucky's eyes flutter open, and Steve is so grateful he wants to sob with relief. His bloody, cracked lips stretch in an approximation of a smile. "Steve, hey dreamboat," Bucky says and Steve is forcibly thrown back to a factory in Austria, and the very first time he ever laid eyes on the man in front of him. It hurts his chest.

 

"Hey, Buck," Steve says, eyes itchy. "Who did this to you?"

 

Shifting his shoulders, Bucky exacerbates his injuries and cries out in pain.

 

"Don't move," Steve warns. He's joined by Rhodes who brings a penlight over. He shines it in Bucky's eyes, who winces away. Pale blue-grey eyes are glassy, left pupil blown out further than the right.

 

"He's got a concussion," Rhodes says grimly, "along with a shitload of other problems. We gotta find Tony and get this guy to a hospital."

 

"Who did this?" Steve asks again. Because Steve would put someone who's done a _third_ of what's been done to Bucky in traction for a year.

 

"Stane n' his boys," Bucky slurs. "Wanted me dead. But 'm like a fuckin' cat." Bucky winces and touches his ribs. "'Pparently."

 

It's like gas from a leaking fuel line, and he's stepping closer and closer to an open flame. Steve looks to Rhodes, who glances back with worry on his face, for a completely different person. "Tony," he breathes.

 

Steve's brain goes tactical almost immediately, almost as though he hadn't been in retirement for decades. "I'll go check on Stark. In case Stane left any heavy hitters, I can take care of them."

 

"And you don't think I can?" Rhodes asks, clearly pissed.

 

"Not at all. I need you to get Bucky to a hospital--"

 

"Rogers--"

 

"A _secure_ facility. If Stane realises he's not dead, he might send others to finish the job." Steve looks down at Bucky. "It's a miracle he's not dead now. It wouldn't take much to finish him off in this state."

 

"Hey," Bucky protests weakly, and Steve shakes his head, before addressing Rhodes again.

 

"His body can only work so fast to heal. He needs time and safety. You have my word I'll take the same care with Stark that you do with Bucky." Steve screws up his face desperately. " _Please_."

 

Rhodes agrees, because it's a logical plan. Steve is more than capable of defending himself against multiple goons, _and_ he used to be Captain goddamned America. That still seems to mean something to some people.

 

Steve helps Rhodes lift Bucky carefully into the reclined passenger seat of his car and, in a briefly uncharacteristic public display, brushes a kiss across his forehead. "I'll find Stark, and then I'll kill Stane myself," he promises vehemently.

 

"Find Tony," Bucky presses the priority, collapsing against the seat, exhausted.

 

Steve doesn't wait until Rhodes has driven off before he sprints up to the house. It's open, and it shouldn't be. Steve walks in with a light tread, deciding against calling out and announcing his presence to anyone who still might be inside.

 

The living room is empty and quiet, and the hairs on the back of Steve's neck rise. Something is very wrong, and there might still be thugs on the premises. With the main house seemingly quiet, Steve jogs down the flight of stairs that Rhodes told him leads to Tony's personal lab.

 

The door is smashed, and Tony is lying next to a work bench, amongst shards of broken glass.

 

Steve is getting tired of finding the bodies of men he knows on the floor today.

 

He turns Stark over to thankfully find he's not dead. Tony is pale and weak, and looks surprised to see him.

 

"Rogers," he says in surprise, and glances past him, as though to look for his friend. "Where's Bucky? Where's Pepper?"

 

"Bucky's on his way to hospital," Steve says grimly, "he was coming to warn you, and Stane tried to beat him to death."

 

"Fuck. Pepper?" Tony asks, gripping Steve's shoulders desperately.

 

"She's safe. With Agent Coulson and a team, they're about to arrest the son of a bitch." Not if Steve gets to him first, though.

 

Rather than look reassured, Tony is stricken. "That's not going to be enough."

 

"Why?" Steve presses.

 

As he helps Tony struggle to his feet, Tony tells Steve what he knows, detailing Obadiah's betrayal; how the debacle in Afghanistan was actually an attempted assassination ordered by Stane; how Stane systematically turned the Board against him, and stole prototype projects to be used against civilian targets. Steve knows all of that from Bucky's investigations, but what he doesn't know is how the man came to his home and incapacitated him to rip the arc reactor from his chest, leaving him to die; and how that is going to be used to further Stane's own plans for a hostile -- _literally hostile_ \-- takeover of Stark Industries.

 

Tony directs them towards the garage as they speak, but Steve can barely pay attention enough to see straight. Not only has Stane tried to kill the most important person in his life, but he's been playing Stark for years. Steve wouldn't be surprised if Stane had something to do with Howard and Maria's death, the timing of their accident seems so coincidental in hindsight.

 

They arrive in the garage, and Steve thinks he's there to find a car and drive them back to Stark's factory. What he finds is something completely different.

 

Tony's strength is clearly returning, as he pushes gently away from Steve once they're in the garage. He makes his way with steadier footsteps towards a sleek red and gold statue, only the statue mechanically opens up and allows Tony to step inside it, with Jarvis' help.

 

It's straight out of one of Bucky's old pulp novels. "Wow," Steve exclaims softly, momentarily diverted from his building anger.

 

Tony must be feeling better; he preens a little at the praise. "This is going to end that backstabbing son of a bitch."

 

"I know you've been making a name for stepping out of the weapons trade, but you wouldn't have anything I could use, would you?" Steve asks. He hasn't carried a firearm or anything like it in years.

 

Tony points to a purely silver copy of his design standing to the side. "Might be a little tight around the shoulders, but you can try that one."

 

Steve shakes his head, only slightly tempted. "I think I'll do more harm than good. Anything a little more subtle?"

 

A strange look passes over Tony's face, despite the serious circumstances, he almost smiles. "Go back to my workshop, and head to the annex in the back."

 

Steve starts to back off on his way there. "What am I grabbing?"

 

"You'll know it when you see it. Should be a bit more your speed."

 

Sprinting back down to the workshop, Steve tears into the annex, looking around for anything that could constitute a weapon, or maybe even a bit of body armour. What he finds is so much better.

 

Steve makes his way back up to the garage, a most familiar weight on his arm. And when Tony sees him, he actually smiles.

 

"So that's what it's supposed to look like," he says, gesturing to Captain America's shield, braced on Steve's arm as though it hadn't been over sixty years since he'd last held it. All the scratches and scorch marks have been buffed out, leaving a nearly brand-new finish.

 

"How-- how did you get--" Steve asks, then stops. It's overwhelming to be confronted with the spectre of who he was so long ago.

 

"I promise I'll tell you the whole story over a very large bottle of whisky after we make sure Pepper's okay, and kick Obadiah's ass," Tony says.

 

"Deal," Steve agrees.

 

They take a moment to look one another over. Tony sees Steve's perfect stance with the shield on his arm, body adjusting to weight automatically. Steve watches Tony perform a bunch of technical checks, before engaging the thrusters at the bottom of his boots to hover a few feet above the ground. They're as ready as they'll ever be. Steve flicks Tony a quick salute. He sees a smirk form on Tony's face just before the gold plate comes to snap down in front of it, red metal fingers making a tiny 'ping' on his helmet as Stark returns the gesture.

 

Tony rockets himself out of a hole in the roof of the garage, and Steve jumps in a silver sports car and speeds off, both heading in the same direction.

 

Stane is too powerful for the Agents in his jacked up version of Tony's first suit design, powered by the stolen arc reactor. Once Tony arrives, he's able to divert Stane's attention from Pepper, and keep him occupied for a respectable amount of time, until version one of his own arc reactor begins to really struggle. It wasn't made to power the metal suit. But as luck would have it, Tony happens to know the former Captain Fucking America, and _that_ guy is _pissed._

 

Steve doesn't need Kevlar when he has the shield. He instinctively knows how to wield it, use it as cover, fling it as a weapon, only feeling mildly out of practice. His throws are still quite accurate, but the shield struggles to cause lasting damage to Stane's metal man.

 

Running in to cover him, Steve finds out that Tony is secretly in communication with Pepper, who is going to overload the large arc reactor powering his factory as soon as the word is given. It's a solid plan, and all Steve has to do is keep protecting Tony while the final details fall into place. The idea is that they are far away, and it blows Stane to kingdom come.  

 

Stane fires at Tony, the energy deflected by Steve's shield. "Never thought I'd see the day you'd be back in action, Captain," Stane laughs. "Too bad Barnes was such a pain in the ass, but he's dead now."

 

"You're right about one part of that sentence," Steve says, gritting his teeth. "He _is_ a colossal pain in the ass."

 

It takes a moment for Steve's words to sink in, and Obadiah sneers. "Pity. Too bad that guy just won't stay dead... Maybe I can make it stick for you!" He fires a bolt of energy, which Steve is able to deflect.

 

"You're welcome to try," Steve grunts, throwing his shield at Stane. It crashes into the shoulder joint of Stane's suit, sparks flying, and the suit stumbles a fraction.

 

"Keep doing that," Tony calls out to him. "He needs to move to the left another few feet."

 

Steve catches his shield, hurling it again almost immediately, ducking a blast from Stane's suit. "On it! But don't we need to move, too?"

 

Another bolt of energy from Stane's suit shatters the glass between them. Steve gives Tony a frantic look, and Tony nods. "Who wants to live forever anyway, right? Pepper, do it now!"

 

Steve is only just able to back up as the arc reactor unleashes its awesome power directly at Stane. Not even his souped-up suit can protect him.

 

The power also collapses the ceiling that Tony and Steve are on, and they fall through the building.

 

Steve passes out for a few minutes. When he comes to, he crawls out of the rubble, coughing at the dust. The factory is broken concrete and steel beams, creaking in protest. Everything's hazy with powdered concrete hanging in the air, it obscures Steve's vision.

 

"Tony? Tony!" There's no answer, but Steve ends up finding a prone body a few feet away. He crawls over, feeling for a pulse. It's a little shallow, but there.

 

"Tony, you in there?" he asks.

 

Gradually, Stark opens his eyes. He laughs, but then groans in pain. "Being a hero isn't as fun as I was promised."

 

Steve can't help a small smile. "Tell me about it." He rubs his dirty forehead and looks around at the rubble. "How did we even survive this?"

 

"I'm wearing a suit of fucking armour and you've got a magic, physics-defying Frisbee."

 

Steve laughs, feeling it right down in his belly. He helps haul Tony to his feet, and they make their way out, looking for Pepper.

  
***

 

Tony stops in at the hospital to check up on Bucky a few days later. Pepper, Rhodes and Agent Coulson are with him, as they're escorting Tony directly to a press conference afterwards. He's only got a few cuts and bruises left on his body, while Steve's fully healed on all accounts.

 

It's Bucky that took the most vicious hit. Despite his remarkable body, the beating was so severe, parts of him are still on the mend. Stark's very expensive doctors all but confirmed there would've been no coming back from his extensive injuries, had Bucky not possessed a version of Erskine's serum.

 

Tony sits down on Bucky's left, opposite Steve's chair on the right. He gestures to Bucky's cybernetic arm, and Bucky shrugs. With practiced care, he looks over the limb, testing its range of movement at the elbow, and apologising as Bucky winces.

 

"The shoulder socket has been damaged, it's not sitting right."

 

"That would've happened when I was having the shit kicked out of me," Bucky replies, almost cheerfully.

 

Tony pauses. "I'm sorry about that. I should've known he was dirty."

 

"It's not your fault," Bucky sighs. "The guy had been around for nearly thirty years. If anything, _I_ should've picked up on it."

 

"It's _nobody's_ fault," Rhodes insists. "He was really good at covering his tracks."

 

"So," Bucky begins, "I hear you and Steve took the asshole out in spectacular fashion." Tony and Steve look at one another, and Bucky can see something very new there. The beginnings of respect, and friendship.

 

"Well, Rogers was able to lay the hurt on Obadiah while I planned with Pepper--"

 

"--but Stark kept him busy until I got there."

 

Bucky hides a small smile, as does Pepper. Tony gives Steve a wry grin. "Self-appreciation is completely underrated. How did we even survive that again?"

 

Steve can't help curving his lips up. "Well, you wore a suit of fucking armour and I had a magic, physics-defying Frisbee."

 

Tony stands abruptly. "Speaking of which! I have something for you. Agent?" he asks Coulson, who leaves the room for a few moments, and comes back in holding the familiar red, white and blue disc reverently.

 

Bucky goes very quiet as Coulson hands it to Tony, who walks around the bed to stand in front of Steve. "Figured you might like to keep this, for old-timey nostalgia, or something."

 

Steve takes the shield gently, resting it in his lap. Bucky can't stop looking at Steve, then the shield, then back to Steve. A pin dropping in the room would sound as loud as a thunderclap in this moment.

 

"You said," Steve begins, wetting his lips, "you said you'd tell me how you got this."

 

"So I did," Tony nods. He returns to his side of Bucky's bed and sits, elbows on knees. "When you retired from the Army, they made you hand it back, right?"

 

"Right," Steve says, running his fingers along the line of the etched star.

 

"Well, so I hear tell, dear old dad pitched an absolute fit at them to relinquish the shield to him. Y'see, they commissioned the shield, but it was _his_ sample of vibranium that made it. Threatened to take them to court to pay the actual cost of the vibranium, which... well, you think the price of it's bad now? It was _worse_ in the forties. Too rich for even the US Government to think it was cost effective, so they gave in. Let him have it."

 

"So it's been with you since then?" Steve asks curiously.

 

"Yeah. Got passed around a few of the residences for a while, then he gave it to me sometime in the nineties." Tony shrugs. "I thought it was a bit too retro to display, so it somehow found its way into the workshop." Tony stops for a moment, rubbing his palms together. "Dad told me.. a few years ago. He told me that if you ever came to visit again, he was going to give it back to you." Tony looks absently at Bucky's crisply starched bedsheets. "He was... he said it would've been good to talk to you again."

 

Steve looks poleaxed, and his eyes snap to Bucky's immediately. Bucky can't think of anything to say. He suspected Howard was softening in his old age, but never dared hope he'd entertained thoughts of reconciliation, if that's what the gesture was meant to be.

 

"Did you... did you know he had the shield?" Steve asks Bucky, who shakes his head.

 

"No," Bucky admits quietly, "he never told me."

 

Tony shrugs. "That's dad for you. He did love a good secret or two."

 

He exhales gustily, and changes the subject to dispel the sombre mood in the air. "So how long are they going to keep you in here for, anyway?" Tony asks Bucky.

 

"Should be good for discharge in twenty-four hours, but I can't fly for forty-eight."

  
When Tony arches an eyebrow on the 'fly' remark, Bucky shrugs his right shoulder with a painful wince as his ribs hurt. "I want to go home."

 

"I get that," Tony says. He slaps his legs and gets up. "Come into the Manhattan workshop when you're back, I'll work on your arm. In light of recent events, I a) need a break from my break in Malibu, and b) been thinking of a few modifications I could do--"

 

"Mr Stark," Agent Coulson interrupts, "the press conference."

 

"Ah, yes. The public await." Tony breezes around the bed and holds his hand out for Bucky to shake. "See you on the other coast, Bucky," he says with a smile.

 

He then turns to Steve, and after a pregnant moment, holds out his hand. Steve pauses, and then takes it with a slow shake. "Steve," Tony says, a hint of warmth to the name.

 

"Tony," Steve replies, not quite a smile on his face.

 

The rest of the party say their farewells and depart, leaving Steve and Bucky alone once again.

 

Bucky's eyes slip to the shield, still in Steve's hands. "What did it feel like?" he inquires. "To fight again?"

 

Steve looks down at the white star in the centre, before very carefully placing the shield next to Bucky's bed. "It felt... good," he says, choosing his words carefully. "And Tony is... he's a good man."

 

Bucky sighs tiredly and closes his eyes. "Been telling you for years."

 

Steve is stealing Bucky's jello and watching him get increasingly cranky when the press conference begins.

 

Bucky is not surprised at all when Tony deviates from his palm cards and admits to being the Iron Man on live television. Steve owes him five dollars.

 

When they get back to New York, and after being assured repeatedly that Bucky is fine, Steve goes for a long walk to clear his head.

 

The last few years have been tumultuous. A lot of old hurts that had been buried and left to fester, surfaced. But events seemed to have drained so much of the poison out of them, perhaps he's in a better place than he has been in years to be able to move on.

 

The whole circus with Obadiah Stane definitely taught Steve a few things.

 

Firstly, Tony isn't Howard. And despite Steve only ever being a remote and distant figure in his life, Tony doesn't hate him. It's a pretty small basis upon which to build some form of actual relationship, but it's better than Steve thought he had, which is something in and of itself. Against all odds, they seem to have gotten of to a relatively good start, maybe it would be prudent to strike while the iron is hot.

 

Secondly, while he doesn't regret his decision to actively leave the field when he did, it felt so good, so _natural_ to enter it again. He's felt like his life has lacked a little purpose in the last decade. For a few weeks, he had it, and it was good.

 

Thirdly, if there's an opportunity somewhere for him to do it again, he'll probably take it.

 

And fourthly, this hadn't been the first time Bucky's life had been in jeopardy, but since both their retirements, it was the first time in many years. There are so many people in Steve's life who have departed -- starting with his father and ending with Howard and Maria Stark -- but it wasn't until he saw Bucky beaten to within an inch of his life on the side of the road, that he realised...

 

That he _realises_...

 

It's been years since Bucky came home that day and confessed something so personal, they don't ever really talk about it. And Steve has felt desire and admiration and friendship for him, and has even told Bucky he's loved, but there's something _else_ now.

 

Steve thinks he knows what it is, but is scared to say anything just yet. It might deserve some further analysis.

 

***  


When Tony gets back to New York, he dodges his new status as 'super hero' for a few days, and calls Bucky to Stark Tower to get refitted for a new arm. Nothing is out of the ordinary for this save for the fact that for the first time ever, when he goes, Steve attends, too.

 

Bucky's been doing this for so long, he's far from needing moral or emotional support; he accepted his metal limb a long time ago, and has now spent so much time in Howard's -- and then Tony's -- labs, they don't bother him anymore. Hell, forty years ago, waking up on a bed with wires sticking out of him like he did in California would've sent him fucking catatonic. Now it's just a mild anxiety that he can actually rationalise away.

 

Bucky's lost count of what version this is, maybe approaching triple digits now. Steve sits next to him, fascinated as Tony tinkers with the new arm.

 

This one is sleeker, with better articulated knuckle joints and a slightly darker shade of grey. Tony's also taken the liberty of changing the colour of the star on Bucky's deltoid from red to white. He gives Steve a shit-eating grin when Steve notices. Bucky just rolls his eyes.

 

After that, Tony takes them up to the ninety-third floor, complete with laboratory, lounge, bar, and helipad, and they enjoy a drink together.

 

Bucky's more pleased than he can say to see Tony and Steve talking. They're a little bratty to one another sometimes, and Bucky can see points where they have different views and might disagree in the future, but for the most part, they get along.

 

It's not until sometime after dark that Jarvis announces an unexpected visitor, despite Tony having set quite stringent privacy protocols on the floor.

 

A tall man in a long, black coat and an eye patch breezes out. Steve and Bucky sit up almost immediately, while Tony looks irritated.

 

"Who the hell are you?"

 

The man looks to Bucky, and waits for an introduction. "Tony," Bucky begins slowly, "this would be Nick Fury, current Director of SHIELD."

 

"Director Barnes, Agent Rogers, Mr Stark," he greets politely.

 

Bucky shakes his head and gets up to go to the bar. "That's _former_ Director and Agent, Nick," he corrects.

 

"Sorry, old habits," Fury says.

 

Tony walks over and sizes up the new arrival. "Head of super secret spies?" he asks. "I don't know, the leather trench just screams 'suspicious' to me. Not very covert."

 

"About as covert as telling everyone in a press conference that you're Iron Man," he quips back.

 

Tony shrugs and downs his last mouthful of whiskey. "So you're here to talk about that?" he asks.

 

"Amongst other things," Fury says. "I hear you saw some action again, Agent Rogers. Agent Coulson got quite excited to see you with the shield."

 

"What's this about, Nick?" Bucky interrupts. "Are you here for Tony, or me, or Steve, or what?"

 

Fury gestures to the sofa, and Tony shrugs. They all end up sitting down, facing the Director.

 

"It's good you're all here, saves me repeating myself," Fury says, pulling an envelope out of his trench's inner pocket. "I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative."

  
***  


One long and very strange conversation later, in which Bucky wishes he could get a lot drunker for, Nick leaves, and he and Steve decide to take Tony up on his offer to spend the night at the Tower. It's an apartment Bucky has stayed in from time to time, and it's filled with a lot of memorabilia from the forties and fifties. The ghosts of the past seem especially close tonight, surrounded by evidence of how far he -- how far _they_ \-- have come.

 

Bucky splashes water on his face. What Fury's proposing is... well, it's probably just as ridiculous as the SSR was forming the Howling Commandoes, only it's the Howlies if every single member had crazy-ass abilities. He knows all about Tony's suit. He knows Steve took up the shield again.

 

What's more, when quizzed, Steve seemed to not be as negative as he'd have given his friend credit for towards the idea of getting back into the field.

 

The years haven't been kind to the spark that made Steve Rogers stand out in the dull horror of the European Theater. But just for a little while, over the last few days, he's seen it again, and it has made him nostalgic.

 

Bucky shakes his head. Nick even offered him a spot, but Bucky was not as openly enthusiastic as the other two. Cyborg sniper? He's not sure that would play well in the media. Bucky plays his enhancements close to his chest; always has. Something like this would blow that wide open.

 

It's possible that thought has passed through Steve's mind.

 

It's likely Tony's not considered that at _all._

 

With a sigh, he walks out into the living room, to see Steve looking out the large picture windows, a frame dangling loosely in his left hand.

 

Photographs from the old SSR files litter this particular room. Most of them concern Howard, but there are also plenty of the Howling Commandos, and Peggy.

 

One such framed photograph is gripped in Steve's fingers. It's the one that hangs at the entrance to the hall; it's a picture from the SSR base in London, in the war room. In the photo, Steve and Bucky both peruse a map of Europe, Peggy placing a tiny marker somewhere. Steve leans his fists on the map, scrutinising it carefully, while Bucky leans his hip against the table, arms folded across his chest. It simultaneously feels like so long ago, and yesterday.

 

Bucky moves to stand next to Steve, and presently, Steve slips his right hand into Bucky's left, interlacing their fingers.

 

Bucky opens his mouth to ask Steve a penny for his thoughts, when Steve breaks the silence.

 

"I love you," he says in a soft, stilting voice, still looking out the windows. "I'm sorry I... didn't say it properly before now. I mean, I've loved you for a long time, but I now _know_ I... _shit_." He curses softly, and Bucky squeezes his fingers.

 

Steve turns to face him, worry etched on his brow, looking younger than Bucky has seen in many years. Which is ironic, given they both actually do look a little older now, even if not by much.

 

He places the photograph down reverently on the nearby bureau and takes Bucky's flesh hand in his as well. "You've always seemed to know what I mean," he says, looking into Bucky's eyes searchingly. "Do you know what I mean?"

 

Bucky gives a long exhale, blinking slowly before looking into Steve's face. "Steve," he says in the most serious voice he can muster under the circumstances, "it's about fucking time."

 

Steve's mouth curves up like Da Vinci's _Mona Lisa_ , mysterious and beautiful.

**Author's Note:**

> * Up until a few days ago, the holding title for this fic was 'Stucky rewrites iron man'. The file name is still that XD 
> 
> * As you may have noticed, Howard and Maria died in 2005 in this, not 1991. Bucky is not the winter soldier, and so their deaths were unrelated to him at all. It's only speculated by Steve in the fic, but in this timeline, Stane most certainly had something to do with their deaths. He felt snubbed by Howard, and ripped off. 
> 
> * So Tony got an extra 14 yrs with his parents, but things traveled as they had been, with Howard somewhat of an absent father figure. 
> 
> * Bucky is the best bro to Tony ever. I love Tony and Bucky's friendship. 
> 
> * It was really fun to follow the line of the Iron Man movies, only with Bucky and Steve in the mix. 
> 
> * A few people asked me about Bucky's 'i love you' at the end of Cause & Effect, loving that Bucky got to a stage where he actually developed feelings over time for Steve. I actually never felt like Steve reciprocated at that stage. Not to be mean to Bucky, and there was no chance Steve was ever going to leave him... he cared for Bucky deeply, but he wasn't in love with him back. Flash forward another few decades to this fic... and he's finally gotten to that place. It felt natural after the events that unfolded. 
> 
> * Steve has finally put Peggy's death behind him. 
> 
> * So uh, I accidentally the Avengers with Steve coming in at the ground level? :D 
> 
> * I have no ideas with how it changes the further MCU! I don't actually intend to write that. *shifty eyes* I really don't. If YOU have thoughts about how it might play out, though, shoot me a comment! I'd love to see. 
> 
> * This fic was entirely inspired by a comment that a reader made. Because comments are amazing! If you felt so inclined to leave one on this work, I'd absolutely love to hear from you.
> 
> Now... back to FTF! <3 Thanks, fandom.


End file.
